Today, the spot price of SMM #1 copper cathode against the current month 2602 contract was quoted at a discount of 250 yuan/mt to parity, with the average price at a discount of 125 yuan/mt, down 325 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. This decline was due to the contract rollover. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 101,170 to 102,540 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2602 contract showed an inverted V-shaped trend, retreating after a rapid rise and closing lower. It opened at 102,390 yuan/mt, rose to a high of 103,170 yuan/mt, then fell to 101,500 yuan/mt and stabilized, closing at 101,330 yuan/mt. The Contango spread between nearby contracts ranged from 300 to 200 yuan/mt, while the import loss for the current month SHFE copper contract was between 940 and 1,040 yuan/mt.
At the beginning of the morning session, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a discount of around 150 yuan/mt, then quickly adjusted their offers to a discount of 200-60 yuan/mt. High-quality copper, such as Jinchuan plate, was quoted at a premium of 30 yuan/mt due to scarce supply, but trading was sluggish. Zhongtiaoshan traded at a discount of 200 yuan/mt. In the second session, suppliers further lowered prices, quoting standard-quality copper at a discount of 250-170 yuan/mt. Trading activity then improved slightly, with Tiefeng and Zhongtiaoshan trading at a discount of 250 yuan/mt, and Jinguan trading at a discount of 220 yuan/mt.
Looking ahead to next week, with copper prices remaining high and downstream buyers continuing to buy the dip, the overall market structure is unlikely to change significantly. The outflow of delivery warrants is expected to further pressure spot premiums and discounts, which are likely to maintain today's structure.
